Scotties trounce Glendive, 69-59

Through three quarters the Glasgow boys' basketball team played almost flawless defense in their 69-59 victory against Glendive on Friday.
The Scotties, who led 45-27 after the third quarter, had to sweat out the final eight minutes as Glendive picked up its offensive intensity and sped the game into hyperdrive. The Red Devils consistently ran down the court, fired up a 3-pointer, then looked for an offensive rebound for the entire final quarter.
For the most part it worked, the Red Devils finally got into the teeth of a rabid Scotty defense and got loose for 32 points in the quarter, surpassing the amount they had put up for the entire first three quarters.
But as the point spread closed, and Glasgow saw its once 18-point lead cut in half, the seniors stepped up and took charge of the game, answering every shot the Red Devils took in the last five minutes.
The brunt of the challenge fell on the shoulders of senior wing player Jon Page. Page, by far the team's best free throw shooter, found the ball in his hands for most of the final moments, answering beautifully by going 12-for-17 from the free throw line on the way to a game high 18 points.
While Page's mastery at the line kept the game from getting out of hand, it was the senior bigs that put the Scotties into such a great position. Drew Croy and Tristan Schmitt found their way behind the tough Glendive pressure defense and into open scoring lanes all night. Croy finished with another double-double, his second in as many games, scoring 12 points and pulling down 15 rebounds. Schmitt had 11 points and four rebounds in limited playing time. Both Schmitt and senior forward Patrick Billingsley played in foul trouble for much of the night and fouled out before the end of the game. Billingsley finished with six points and seven rebounds in only 15 minutes of play.
“We didn't hang back, we pushed the ball at them pretty good,” head coach Norm Braaten said. “We finally hit some free throws and things fell together.”
A tight game for much of the first quarter, the Scotties extended their lead to six with a 3-pointer just before the close of the opening quarter. Glasgow outscored Glendive 10-5 in the second quarter to take a 25-14 lead into the break.
The Scotties scored 20 points in the third quarter to open up the lead even more before the Red Devils could mount a comeback in the fourth. The Scotties held their biggest lead of the night entering the final frame, and needed nearly every bit of the cushion to beat the previously No. 3-ranked Red Devils.
Glendive's Christian Hannesson, who has been on a tear of recent, was held nearly scoreless in the first quarter with his sole point coming in a free throw. It wasn't until the fourth quarter that Hannesson was able to find open lanes and hit his shots from beyond the arc. Hannesson finished with 14 points.
“Drew Croy did a great job on him,” Braaten said. “Then the other kids, when (Glendive would) set a screen for him, they came off and hedged at him pretty good and we got a hand in face. That helps.”
Chaz Gordon was the only other Scotty to score in double figures, finishing with 10 points. Dylan Hughes finished just short of Gordon with nine points and Derek Hopkins finished with three points.
The Scotties will have to rebound from the big win over Glendive to prepare for a grueling stretch of games this weekend. Rounding out the home slate, the boys have three games in Glasgow this weekend, playing against Wolf Point, Plentywood and Poplar in a span of four days. Then, on Tuesday, the Scotties travel to Sidney to make up their game that was snowed out two weeks ago.
In the midst, the Scotties have a chance to use that home court advantage to edge near first place in District 2B, sitting only a game behind Wolf Point in the loss column.
“Wolf Point's a key for us,” Braaten said. “If we want first we've got to knock off Wolf Point. That's the first thing, then we can go from there.”
The Wolves have a lot of similarities with Glendive, both teams like to pressure on defense and have good athletes at every position. Earlier this year, in Wolf Point, the Scotties led the Wolves late in the fourth quarter when Wolf Point was able to put together a run and send the game to overtime. The Scotties only scored three points in the extra session and lost the game 54-52.
Glasgow is hoping to get revenge for that game while repeating big wins over Plentywood, Poplar and Sidney before heading into the final game of the regular season next Friday at Malta. If every thing plays out in the Scotties' favor, the game in Malta could decide the top seed in the District Tournament.
When asked if the troops will be ready for the home stretch, Braaten's answer was simple.
“Better be.”
The Scotties start their quest this Friday against Wolf Point.